Catching Fred

It was very dark under the trees, but I managed to follow Fred from the noise that he was making in crashing through the undergrowth. Eventually I saw a faint pale glimmer up ahead that must be him.

My lungs bursting and with a red mist in front of my eyes from the effort, I managed to overhaul him. When I was within reach, I dived and tackled him around the knees, bringing us both crashing to the ground.

Panting from the exertion, I rose to my knees and saw that he seemed to be out cold. He must have hit his head when he fell.

I rolled him over onto his back. There was a nasty bruise developing on his forehead, but he was breathing steadily. Of more concern was the fact that the scales that had covered his right hand had now spread, and reached almost to his elbow. The transformation must have accelerated during the night.

I debated with myself whether the kindest thing would be to kill him before he could regain consciousness. Deciding eventually that it would, I drew my dagger. Tears running down my cheeks, I raised it, preparing to stab him in the heart.

But just then his eyes flickered open.

1. "Hello, Astra," he said. "Put down your dagger."
2. He didn't seem to know me.
3. Those eyes fixed me with a gaze so mesmerising that I found myself unable to move.
4. He spoke some words in a tongue that I did not know - the language of dragonkind perhaps?

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